


pining and anticipation

by reylosea



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Ben is an Engineer, Dirty Talk, E-mails, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hate to Love, Office AU, Office Party, Office Sex, Rey is an architect, Teasing, don't know what sex tags to use, not exactly hate, probably table sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:07:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24675085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reylosea/pseuds/reylosea
Summary: “You’ve been staring weirdly at your laptop for the last 30 minutes, is everything okay?” Poe came behind Rey and she quickly closed the inbox tab from her e-mail.“Yeah, just trying to figure some details out.” She shrugged and looked back at him.Rey had no idea how a single comment led to her and Ben exchanging those emails during work hours. That was wrong in so many levels it was hard for her to even begin explaining. But not that anyone else needed to know.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Reylo
Comments: 35
Kudos: 89





	1. why are you acting weird?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is actually my first reylo fic, first time posting here and first time writing fully in English, so be kind to me, please!
> 
> I really hope you enjoy it, I plan this story to be about 4/5 chapters long, not sure yet, but hopefully we'll get there!

  
Moodboard by the incredible [@marriedreylo](https://twitter.com/marriedreylo)

Rey didn’t like the fact that she had to work on some – _most_ – Saturdays. She didn’t mind working late during the week, but working Saturday morning down to mid-afternoon meant she would not be able to watch Netflix until very late on Friday, with BB8 and a bowl of ramen. She hated a little less ‘cause Poe and Finn were there with her, working their asses off way more than she did, honestly.  
But she knew she wasn’t in a position to complain. Working in OrganArch, Leia’s Architecture firm, was a dream come true. And she was incredibly lucky, or as Leia said ‘very hard working and pretty much the daughter she never had’, since she was promoted to Team Leader of the main Architects team after only 2 years of work. Now she would work on the big projects OrganArch was developing, coordinating a whole team of people and working directly with all other teams. She was upgraded from 5th to 11th floor, and it was supposed to be amazing. Three months after, things were quite… terrible.  
It wasn’t about the job itself, it would never be because of that. She loved being an architect and working with it, every single detail of a project was so important and Rey loved to dedicate the same level of attention to them all, though it could get frustrating sometimes. Team-wise, hers was great. Poe, Finn and Rose were as passionate as her about the job, and more than bossing them around, they became great friends quite quickly. But she hated dealing with engineers. Ben Solo was the worst of them. And Saturdays were there so they could work _directly_ together. Face to face, not e-mail to e-mail.

Ben Solo. Head Engineer, Luke’s nephew, and worse than that, Leia’s son. Not that she treated him differently, she knew her job wouldn’t be on the line just ‘cause they disagreed on almost every aspect of the work, but she still tried to show some respect for him, for Leia and Leia only. Ben was terrible to her, from day one. The day they were introduced, he just looked at her curiously, but five seconds later had that ‘you’re not worth my time’ look on his eyes. He avoided staring at her anytime they were in a meeting and she was presenting something, although she could always feel him driving his attention back to her as soon as she sat down.  
They mostly talked through e-mails, like everyone else in the company. Some were more polite than others, but most of them had that angry tone of his; she could just imagine his deep voice telling all that was written to her in a harsh way. He also always seemed tense, like everything was a step away from the edge.  
Since he coordinated all engineering teams, they inevitably had to work together. Rey would get all the projects his team sent hers and make them compatible with the architecture one, merging structure, architecture and electrical projects together. Poe and Finn usually did the compilations and she always checked everything after, before sending the project back.  
One time she sent the changes in an electrical project for Calrissian Towers straight to Ben; it was the first time she had to make direct contact with him about changes in a project because Hux (Ben’s right arm, a bit more palpable than him) was not replying to her. So she used her most polite writing to say that Phasma had to make those changes ASAP so they could reorganize all the layers in the project, and Ben replied with a passive-aggressive e-mail demanding that she should be the one changing the architecture to fit _his team_ projects. After that, the month went on with rude and a few heated e-mails; apparently Ben not only despised _her,_ he despised Architecture as well.

“I can’t believe this shit.” Rey muttered under her breath. Finn was running late because he was getting them all coffee, and Rey barely sat down to check her inbox and the day felt like it was already ruined.

“What now, baby Rey?” Poe said, turning on his laptop and rolling his chair all the way across the room to where she was sitting on the other side of the table. “What did baby Solo do now?”

“You know I love you, but stop calling us babies, I hate when you do that.” She rolled her eyes, as she turned her laptop to face him.

“It will happen once you both start acting as adults, don’t worry.” He said using his best fatherly tone. “Solo sent another angry e-mail, what’s new?”

“Can you see the time of the e-mail? Look very carefully.”

“'Friday 12, 04:37 am', damn, doesn’t Ben sleep? Or party? Good God.”

“Exactly! How am I supposed to cope with his ass when he vents on e-mails about projects at 4 am? And not just one, he usually sends a chain of them! Yesterday he sent some complaining about the power outlets we’ve put on, saying, and I quote 'why do you have to do things in the most pompous way and pick black outlets? Aren’t the normal ones good enough for your taste?' and 'We can’t change the project every single time a light switch is half an inch to the left, your team needs to get its shit together.' Those were two different e-mails, by the way.”

“What did he say when you told him the walls on the room ARE black, in case he didn’t check, that’s why black power outlets, plus I won’t comment about the half inch thing, ‘cause he’s just trying to annoy you, really.” Poe replied with a little smirk. He knew that between Solo e Rey was more than just ‘I don’t like your work’ drama. Sexual tension was so heavy no one on the whole floor was oblivious to it. Every time they were in a conference together, it spread around the air like dust and everyone sat there waiting for something else to happen.

“Well, I’ve sent a very polite and straight forward e-mail before leaving the office answering all that, and he ignored me. Until he sent the 4 am one to complain about the restrooms and why we’re using “expensive marble”. I refused to answer it saying that the client chose that, or is Ben that stupid?” Rey closed her laptop aggressively, resting her forehead on it and hiding her face.

“I just saw Ben parking his car, he’s probably using the private lift, so if you want to scream to his face once he comes in, the time to prepare is now! Or was Thursday enough?” Finn said, arriving at the room and leaving a coffee cup on Rey’s side. She would probably cringe on being reminded that she left Ben’s office on Thursday screaming that he was convoluted and irrational. It was nothing new, but since the e-mails started about a month earlier than that, things were getting a tide bit worse.

“Argh, please don’t remind me of that. I need an Irish coffee minus the coffee to snap out of it.” Rey said, coming to her senses and tasting her steamy coffee. “Mint, thanks, Finn, you’re the best!” She got up and stretched her back. ‘Ready for a taste of hell? Hux is also here.’

Rey could see both Hux and Ben through the glass wall. During Saturdays both teams came to work together, properly together; Leia and Luke believed that they should discuss and check the design and all other solutions instead of just modify stuff in an eternal back and forth between e-mails, and group e-mails were the worse due to coordinating all the projects that were happening at the same time. So they would stay at the conference room, which had a huge glass wall, across from the whole floor, and an oval table taking most of the space, and they all sat down at it to work, each team on its own side, as they still had some sort of limits.  
Transparency should be a big thing between Sky Engineering and OrganArch, and they meant it _literally_ , glass walls and doors everywhere. The offices had opaque glass, but you could still see the shadows from the inside, and that’s how everyone knew about Rey and Ben discussions, besides the noise, of course.  
Hux came inside the room, and he was already complaining about something on the phone. Rey tried not to listen, it seemed like personal matter, and the last thing she wanted was to be involved in someone else’s drama, she had so much on her plate already. She was still standing, drinking her beverage, trying to concentrate on the refreshing mint against the strong black coffee instead of focusing on how Ben looked that morning.  
One thing she could not deny – or admit out loud – the bastard was handsome enough to hurt.  
He wore a suit jacket constantly, but no tie. At least not on a daily basis. And Rey always tried to convince herself that what drawn her to him was the fact he always dressed so neat, not his broad back and chest, the fact he was taller than everyone in the company, his huge and apparently soft looking hands. Or his long pointy nose, and jet-black smooth hair, and yet the fact every time he entered a room, she could scent his smell, and she never met a man that smelled as good as him. It was none of that, obviously. And over all that was the fact he was a… well, an asshole. He seemed more laid back today, wearing dark jeans and a long sleeve button up shirt, folded to his elbows. Rey almost choked on her drink; how could his forearms be so long?

“You should try to blink more when you’re looking at Ben, people will start to notice.” Poe was standing behind her, practically whispering in her ear. Barely she knew that everyone already did notice. She shook her head, bumping her hair buns on his face, and puffed him off, while he tried to control his laughter.

“Shut up, Poe, I was just daydreaming.” She rolled her eyes and sat down again, lifting the top of her laptop.

“Yeah, about having Solo on your sheets! You totally have the hots for him, ReyRey! We know that hating him publicly is nothing but a cover.” Finn said winking, following Poe’s lead.

“First of all, I don’t have the _hots_ , I’m not a teenager. So could you both just shut up? Specially now that Hux is in the room already.” She lowered her voice while saying Hux’s name.

“A bullet would go through Armitage and he wouldn’t pay attention right now, he’s really concentrating on hating whoever he’s calling. Plus, are you that sure you’re not a teenager? You do love to act like one.” Finn grabbed a chair to sit next to Rey and poke her belly just to get her more annoyed, while giggling.

“You two, that’s enough.” She said loud and clear, and the room went silent the exact moment Ben entered it. The silver MacBook looked so small on his hands it almost seemed helpless.

“Any problem here, children?” He said, his deep voice sounding a bit scratchy, as if he had just woken up. Rey frowned and stared at him, clearly annoyed for the third comment of the day on her acting childish, but he seemed as unreadable as usual. And also he had no idea about the other comments anyway.

Rey didn’t bother answering, she just turned her attention back to her screen, focusing on starting next week’s presentation. Lando wanted everything about his towers to be impeccable, and of course that any mistake would result in late night or early morning angry e-mails, probably the last thing she wanted from Ben (or anyone else, really).  
He was strangely silent that morning. Not that he was much of a talker, but he seemed uneasy. Saturday mornings at work were made for the teams to complain face to face, and Ben usually started by bringing something that Rey’s team needed to fix. Maybe he had insomnia and was just tired, that explained why he was venting on emails at almost 5 am. He grabbed the chair near her and sat there like it was nothing unlike of him. She was so used to him sitting from across the room every time they shared the same space, that his enormous figure made her a bit uncomfortable. She felt like somehow he was blocking the light that came towards her, but all she could do was sigh lower than she wanted to. Mostly because he smelled like oranges and aftershave, and Rey couldn’t help the little smile her lips drew by the thought of Ben wet from a shower, wearing just a towel, while shaving in front of a steamed mirror.  
She felt a shiver down her spine, probably for actually _acting like a teenager_ and fantasizing about a hot guy who loathed her, and that was not the best of ideas, especially when he was sitting so close. Oh god, if she was a guy, her boner would totally sell her out.

“Did you receive my last e-mail?” That was new. Newer than sitting near. He never, in a million years, asked Rey about an e-mail he has sent her; he usually waited for a response, or sent a new one, on another topic, when she didn’t respond at all. It took a few seconds for Rey to realize he was actually talking to her, so she turned to him and mumbled a ‘what’ out of habit.

“The e-mail. About the countertops.” His voice was low, but very clear. And he seemed a bit impatient, more like the normal Ben she was used to seeing – _and avoiding_ – during office hours. He was tall enough to look down at her, even while sitting, with that arrogant look in his eyes.

“Oh, _that._ Yes, I did.” She was typing something, not looking at him anymore.

“And?”

“You should try sending work related e-mails during work hours, you know? 9 to 5, from Monday to Friday, in case you forgot.” She was mocking him, obviously. But her tone was as serious as she could fake it. All she wanted was to scream to his face that some people had a life outside of work, and if he didn’t, he could vent to someone else, not on her inbox at any time he felt like it. She also felt like screaming that he was too hot to handle and how much she wanted to run her fingers through his luscious hair, but that was a different topic, and maybe she shouldn’t scream that to his face. Just _maybe_.

“I’ll try to remember that, Rey.” He sounded so condescending she could sense him smirking. He took a deep breath and started typing something on his laptop, his elbow lightly touching hers through the fold of his shirt. He didn’t seem to notice, and if he did, he definitely didn’t care. But Rey noticed, it was too atypical of him – how close he was, what he just said, the way he sounded a bit arrogant but not angry, almost like he was delighted by those meaningless exchange of words - that even Poe was looking at her and articulating without speaking so Rey could read his lips.

* * *

__Group Message Chat_  
  
_*the eff was that? what got to solo? or am I hearing voices???*  
**-poed  
***what did I miss? sorry I’m not there today, guys, family probs, but i’ll be free soon*  
**-rosetico  
***I don’t know, is that _good mood solo_? did he got laid or something? where did our grumpy ben go?’  
**-finn  
***rey, stop pretending you are working and answer ussssss!!!!11! what is he saying?? he had a smirk, A SMIRK!*  
**-poed  
***i am working, unlike some people… plus what are you talking about?? he’s the same as always. go back to your tasks!*  
**-reyk**

__End of Group Message Chat_  
_

* * *

The morning went abnormally well. Ben seemed to relax as the hours went by, and was acting quite friendly, so it felt really weird to watch. He addressed not only Rey, but her whole team, several times (okay, about four times, but that was too much coming from him in an amicable way). To ask stuff about the project, understand better a few things and he even acknowledged the black power-outlets from one of his angry e-mails, saying how it made sense they were actually black due to the walls, and that was practically admitting he was wrong, which Ben has never done. Not even Hux believed that his boss (well, technically he bossed everyone there, so) was being… approachable? Understanding? Actually not a dick?  
By lunch time, Leia and Luke showed up. It’s been about a month since both of them made an appearance in the company; since Rey and Ben coordinated the biggest teams, they simply were dealing with more bureaucracy and clientele aspects than actually doing projects, and they didn’t need to visit the 11th floor for that. Everyone was carefully eating their delivery lunches while they kept working, and it was a funny surprised when Ben was the one to notice them.

“Mother?” he was confused on why she was there. Why both of them were, actually. They never showed up unexpected.

“Hello, Ben. Rey, how are you?” Leia smiled at them, and at everyone else, cheering them all.

“We just stopped by to let you know, since you’re all here, that we’ll have the inauguration of D-O Tower tomorrow. You are all aware that everything is concluded, and Holdo thought it had no apparent reason to wait until next Saturday to do so. So please, update your invitations and we’ll see you all there.” Luke said warmly, with that usual half grin of his.

“We’re counting on your presence, I know it’s a bit last-minute, but we just got the phone call ourselves.” Leia said, already getting near the door to exit the conference room. “The updated invitation should already be in your inboxes. And please remember the dress-code.” She was staring at Rey, and left with a little wink and a smile.

D-O Tower was one of the fanciest and most complicated projects both teams collaborated on. When Rey was promoted, the project was half way done, so for her it was quite arduous to study all the architecture and understand what was actually going on. But the results were so worthy she barely cared staying late every single night until all was perfectly delivered.  
Soon it was 3 pm and everyone was leaving, except from Ben and Rey. Finn said something about hitting the park, and Rey just nodded, too absorbed while working on the 3D model of the entrance hall for another massive business tower they were designing. She realised she was alone with Ben about 45 minutes later, when he stood up to stretch his back. And just because she got distracted with his shirt coming up, revealing the slightest bit of hair on his navel, but it was not her fault that his stomach was on her eye level. Ben was already turning off his computer, and she took the lead to do the same, gathering her sketch book and all the pens she left on the table.  
They both did their own thing silently, it felt… natural. There was nothing to say, really. Just leave, and they were doing that at the same time, that was all. But when they came to the lift, and Rey closed her eyes for a moment, Ben had to slightly push her so she would get inside the metal box, since she was in front of him and he was too large to pass without bumping on her, and that would be very rude of him. Rey wasn’t what you’d call petit, she was average height and quite thin, but it was enough to still stand in the way. So when she felt his huge hand on her back, she almost jump scared; out of all weird things he’s done during the day, deliberately touching her like that was so out of the blue it almost burned.  
She got into the lift, the spot where his hand rested on for merely two seconds felt a bit warmer than the rest of her body. It was an odd feeling, and she almost missed the superficial contact. He came out of the cubicle before her, but he turned to face her, before getting to his car.

“I guess I’ll see you on tomorrow then. Don’t forget the dress code.” He emulated his mother tone with a smirk, and Rey just looked at him dazed and with a mind who knew not how to answer.


	2. about that dress code

Rey was getting frustrated. She wasn’t supposed to. That thing was stressing her out as much as Ben’s emails, maybe a bit more. With the sudden change of plans she ran home as soon as she left work to check her wardrobe and see if she had anything remotely appropriate. She didn’t even remember she had that event to attend to the week after, so she was just unconsciously postponing what was happening now. The party could be a month from that Saturday, she would still leave it for the last minute; Rey had that terrible habit of doing that to everything besides work, perhaps was her anxiety over social gatherings speaking louder.  
Building’s inaugurations where pretty much a fancier dinner party that was not at a house, and if Rey was not prepared for a simple one, she certainly was not prepared for that. First of all, the whole company would be there, including people she didn’t even know, what would just contribute to the whole ‘I’m not comfortable in here’ situation; second: fancy was not enough to describe the D-O Tower, that place was huge and sumptuous, and though Rey was very proud to be part of the design team, she was a bit intimidated by the building itself, that being the place that embraced the party atmosphere. Rey didn’t want to imagine how out of place she would feel on Sunday, but it was not like she could skip it, so she would have to try and blend in.  
That was the thing about Rey, she rarely got nervous about doing her job, she knew she was good at it, and dedicated, plus she was always willing to learn, and that was admirable. But she was terrible at parties, she often had that feeling that if she sneaked out to go home to her dog no one would notice, so why bother showing up? She avoided that kind of social agenda as much as she could, except for pubs with nice happy hours, that she could handle quite well when she was with Poe, Finn and Rose.  
That cocktail thing was irritating her too much. And she was now sure she had nothing to wear, at least nothing party worthy. She had a couple of old dresses she could maybe dust off, but that cringy feeling of inadequacy was engulfing her. She knew how to dress well, and she did like high heels, the problem was about the party uniform; and seeing nothing but pants and blouses hanging in her closet made her feel like a train wreck. Maybe because Leia was staring directly at her when she mentioned the dress code, or maybe it was Ben so _kindly_ reminding her just a few moments later with that weird look in his eyes, like he was expecting something from her. I mean, what was wrong with them?

“What the hell is this?” Rose held out an eggplant dress that was supposed to be chic, but was just all wrong.

“What? It’s an okay dress!” It wasn’t. Rey tried to take it from her hands, but Rose was quite fast. She could be petit and have the sweetest cheeks that Rey loved to squeeze like a grandma, but Rose could get really bossy about stuff she understood. Party dress codes was one of those topics.

“It looks like someone vomited plum juice on it, for God’s sake.” Rey was sitting on the ground with BB8 while Rose was walking around in circles, still analysing the puff sleeves on the piece. “Don’t get me wrong, your work clothes are great. But that’s all you have! And it’s just pants, I never saw you wear even a pencil skirt, and I’m all about that kind of office wardrobe, you know that. Maybe that was what Leia meant, she wants to see your legs for a change! _”_ Rose didn’t know about Ben’s comment on it, or else she would say he was the one dying to see her on a dress just so he could take it off of her body.

“Hey, I also have suits! And some great heels, but apparently not dresses, you know I don’t even go to parties.” Rey was pouting, she felt somehow like a failure for not having a single decent dress around for that kind of emergency. “All we got is the eggplant one or the baby blue disaster my cousin made me wear as her bridesmaid. I might have something yellow too. Shit, I need ice cream.” Rey wanted to get up, but BB8 decided her legs were his bed and she didn’t want to wake him up, so she just caressed his fur while Rose disappeared into the corridor that connected the bedroom to the living room.

“Here, ReyRey. We’ll figure it out, don’t worry!” Rose tossed her the Ben&Jerry’s tube and BB8 opened his eyes from the sudden movement, wiggling his tail by the excitement of getting some ice cream too.

“Can’t I use some fancy trousers with high heel boots? I do have Chanel boots and tailored cut pants, you know?” Rey muttered.

“It’s a party, which involves cocktail dresses, so no. Do I have to explain the concept of cocktail for the third time?” Rose pretended to be impatient and Rey just replied with her best ‘no, ma’am’ while laughing. “But maybe we can do something about those boots… if they end up going missing, don’t come searching my apartment for them, okay?’ Rose was laughing even harder while Rey just rolled her eyes, they weren’t even the same shoe size. “How about this one?” It was a bright pink tube dress with spaghetti straps, a mix of Barbie and, well...

“This is a slutty costume from 3 Halloweens ago, so no way. I think Leia would rather see me in a baggy sweater.” Rey said with her mouth full of Cherry Garcia while Rose tossed the dress into the “useless” pile. “What are you wearing tomorrow anyway?”

“I have this red strapless dress, but maybe I’ll get something new when we go shopping for yours.”

“Oh God, I knew this was coming. Do we really have to? Can’t I borrow something from you? I can trade you for one night with the boots!”  


“Tempting, but you can’t. Finish your ice cream and go clean yourself. I’ll call Poe.” Rose left the room with her phone in hands, leaving Rey talking alone.

“Argh, fine.” Another scoop and another eye roll for her.

Rey took a good look at the Chanel boots, maybe she could still wear them with whatever dress Rose and Poe picked for her (they would do the choosing since she was pretty sure they would complain about anything she chose herself). She had clean jeans on, brushed teeth and comfortable sneakers for the long shopping haul Rose would lead her to. Knowing Rose and her love for buying, Rey would end up with a whole new section in her wardrobe entitled “clothes I may never wear more than once but I bought because I can’t say no to Rose puppy eyes and persuasive tone”. And Poe was probably going to comment how every piece made her look sexy and stunning and all guys would want to jump her bones (not him, he could only jump on Finn, that’s for sure).

“Explain again why are we here.” Rey asked for a second or third time, she didn’t pay attention when Rose was talking before. She looked around and all she saw was men’s clothes. Rey wasn’t against getting a new nice suit for herself, but Rose would get mad and convince her to get a dress anyway, so she decided to keep her mouth shut about that.

“Poe asked to meet us here.” Rose said waving her hand while looking around the store. “Gonna go see if I can find something – or someone – interesting around.”

“Fine, let’s hope he doesn’t take much longer to get here.”

Rose just shrugged and went into the shoe section. There were some nice chairs right in the middle of the store, between shoes and accessories. Rey decided to sit down and look at her own phone, it was possible they would be there for a while, with Poe it could take either fifteen or fifty minutes. But as soon as she sat down, she got a text from him saying he was trying to park, he would still take a few minutes. The mall was indeed quite crowded that Saturday. Rey just replied saying they were waiting for him at the store and decided to play something to kill time.  
Only a few minutes passed, but she was already bored from that stupid animal game. The only dog she cared about was BB8 and she would rather be home with him instead of buying new clothes. That wasn’t true, Rey cared about all animals, but at the moment she would rather be anywhere else. She wasn’t even buying anything, just sitting and waiting and her bed was much comfier than that chair, so she should be home. She looked around the store in hopes to see Poe magically showing up, but she found someone else instead. The watches’ counter looked too fragile with his huge figure perched over it, but there he was. Ben Solo, in all of his grace, apparently picking a new watch. He was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, but now he had a lean leather jacket on top of it all, hiding the forearms Rey couldn’t get tired of staring at during their morning of work. She couldn’t quite believe it. I mean, what are the odds? It was a small city, but there were other malls there. Why end up in the same one as her?  
She decided not to think too hard about it. Life and all its coincidences or some other astrological crap. She stared at his profile and how his semi curls covered his ears for what it felt like too long before realizing she didn’t actually hate him. Or despised him, like he apparently did to her. She had too many erotic thoughts about him to feel like that and he was just so good looking for her to hate him – though she had many plausible reasons to do it. But really, it was just... annoyance. He was always trying to bother her with every single aspect of her work, most of the time in a childish way, and just like Poe said, he was just annoying her. But why? Why care enough to try and irritate her whenever he could?  
She repeated to herself that was probably just how he dealt with people and quietly payed attention to what he was actually doing. He couldn’t decide.

* * *

From: **Rey K.** <rey.kenobi@organarch.com>  
To: **Ben O. Solo** <bensolo@skyeng.com>  
Subject: **Watches**  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The black one suits you better.  
  
xx  
Rey

* * *

She locked her phone and put it in her back pocket, getting off the chair and trying to find Rose, who was near the entrance of the store now chatting with a very excited Poe. She probably got lost in time while checking if the fine glass from the counter would succumb under Ben’s torso. She would trade places with that counter anytime.

“Finally, where were you?” Rose complained, looking quite worried actually.

“What? I was sitting in the waiting area like a normal person that is, you know, _waiting._ ” Poe hugged her and started dragging both of the girls back into the store.

“Great, I want to buy a watch for Finn and I need opinions. We can be all about dresses after that, I promise.”

Rey froze in place. She was pretty sure Rose didn’t see Ben at the store, she would definitely say something about it, and that encounter between them all could become more awkward than expected. Poe tripped while pulling her due to her sudden stop, and he didn’t understand what was happening.

“Do you have to buy a watch for Finn _here_? It’s not even a Watch Shop! Let’s go somewhere else.” Rey complained, still not moving.

“They have all the good brands here, did you ever buy a man’s watch? Come on, Rey. I promise we’ll get to the dresses right after, it won’t take long!’ Poe pulled her again, and this time she started to move.

As they walked across the store, Rey got nervous again. She didn’t want to bump into Ben, especially after that e-mail. She only sent that to mess around with him, mostly because it was his favourite type of communication (as far as she knew him) and he would not get to actually _see_ her in the store. It was unlikely that she would have to face him, and even if she did, she was certain he would probably just ignore the e-mail and her anyway. Rey doubted he even saw it, to be honest.  
She was a few steps behind Poe and Rose, who were thrilled about whatever they were talking about. The whole accessories area seemed empty, and Rey took a deep breath and hurried to join her friends. They looked through a few models before Poe deciding on a brown leather one, very similar to the black one she told Ben to get, besides the different colour. She tried the watch on just for fun, it was quite nice and elegant, but it looked too big on her thin wrist. While Rose was picking a gift box and Poe was paying, Rey felt her phone vibrate on her pocket.

* * *

From: **Ben O. Solo** <bensolo@skyeng.com>  
To: **Rey K.** <rey.kenobi@organarch.com>  
Re: Subject: **Watches  
** __________________________________________________________________________________  
  
I already got the black one, you don’t have to get me the other color.

**Ben Solo** _**  
** Head Engineer  
Skywalker Engineering CO._

* * *

Rey was astonished. Was Ben _flirting_ with her? How come that was even possible? She strongly believed his insomnia led to the lack of sleep that was now playing tricks on him. First the behaviour in the morning and now this? That also meant he was _still_ at the store. Shit. She tried to look around discretely, she’d be caught dead before Ben found out that she was looking for him.

“All done, lead me to the land of silk and lengths, ladies!” Poe said cheerfully, offering an arm to each Rey and Rose. Rose took it immediately, but Rey was still staring at her phone in disbelief. “Rey, wake up! Are you daydreaming about Solo again?” Poe said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

“Say what now? You’ve been dreaming about Ben Solo, miss?” Rose widened her eyes and opened her mouth in a rather exaggerated act.

“Oh God, not this again. I just need to answer this e-mail very quickly. Hux needs some files.” Rey turned her back on them to type the message while Poe filled Rose in with the weird interactions of Ben during that morning in the office.

* * *

From: **Rey K.** <rey.kenobi@organarch.com>  
To: **Ben O. Solo** <bensolo@skyeng.com>  
Subject: **Watches**  
__________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Well, no watches them.  
Do you fancy anything else, sir?  
  
xx  
Rey

* * *

If Ben Solo wanted flirty, he would get it. Rey was quite curious to know where that would get them, she wasn’t against playing a little game. Maybe it was wrong, because it was still about Ben, and she had an unspeakable crush on him while he was just mean (was this some sort of kink of her?), but the chances of dumb e-mails leading to something else were so minimal she didn’t care much.

“Done! I promise that no more work today!” Rey grabbed Poe’s free arm, putting her phone inside her purse and exiting the store with her friends.

“You know you can’t keep that kind of promise, ReyRey!” Poe laughed while getting a slight slap on his shoulder.

“Okay, I’m getting hungry and we still haven’t started on the dresses, so let’s move, guys!” Rose was a bit annoyed, she got in such a bad mood when hungry.

She was the one pulling them around the windows, looking for something she didn’t knew yet what it was. Rose wanted to find Rey the perfect dress, something that she would love; it was quite hard, but she was the one person up to the challenge. As the good friend she was, all she wanted was for Rey to feel nice in a dress once in her life. Poe was there to give his insight on colors and comment on how expensive women’s clothes were.  
They entered a small kind of hidden boutique, and while Poe was looking at some women’s accessories, Rose was already taking a few hangers and looking for Rey’s size, and knowing her as Rey did, she’d had a pile of clothes anytime soon.  
Rey was walking around, it wasn’t a big store, but there was apparently a lot to see. She was pulled aside by Poe, who pointed to a mannequin near the changing room and something caught Rey’s eyes. It was a simple one shoulder dress, in a black vinyl fabric, that had a sort of neck tie attached. She walked over it, touching the fabric and finding that it was softer than it looked.

“You like that, honey? It’s a unique piece. I think you have just the bone structure to use it!” An older lady, about Leia’s age, approached her with a warm smile. That was an odd compliment that no one ever used with her before.

“It’s very nice. Do you think it will fit me right?” She looked around and Poe was bringing Rose and her pile of dresses over to the changing room.

“Well, only one way to find out!” The warm smile seemed to widen somehow while the lady took the dress off the mannequin and handed her.

It was gorgeous, it really was. The dress felt like it was made for her, and never in her life Rey thought she cold actually pick something like that to herself. It was nothing like she ever wore, definitely not the little black dress she was actually planning on getting that Saturday. It stopped an inch above her knee, and though she was always wearing pants, it felt appropriate.

“So, what do you think?” She got out of the small cabin and spun around for Poe and Rose. She was afraid they would not love it like she did.

“I think… I just picked a bunch of great dresses and you ended up picking the one that’s actually perfect.” Rose said, walking around Rey.

“I pointed her in the right direction, the credit for that is mine! Poe 1, Rose 0!” Poe hugged Rose, who puffed him off.

“I still wanna try some of the dresses you picked, Ro! But I might stick with this one for the party. Guess I could have another one for another emergency?”

“That’s good thinking! Not that we won’t go out again to buy something for the next big event, but Rey in dresses is my new favourite Rey!” Rose smiled and gave her another piece to check on.

Rey tried on a few more colourful dresses that Rose chose, deciding on a tight green one, and a white zipped up with long sleeves. She could afford having three new dresses, it wasn’t a big deal. She would not wear them to work, of course, but it was a beginning. She also got new heels, all because Rose needed to pick something specifically for that party, and Rey could not get tired of a nice pair of shoes.

It was way past eight when she returned home, leaving all the shopping bags near the couch and being welcomed by a very happy dog. She decided to open a bottle of wine and catch up on some show while eating frozen pizza. It was her relaxing time after the weird and surprisingly fun Saturday.  
Surely she fell asleep after two glasses and one episode, and woke up with her phone ringing so loudly she thought she’d go deaf or kill whoever was calling her. It was just her alarm going off for her to take her pill.

“Great to be woken up for that. Why didn’t I choose an earlier hour?” She mumbled to herself, getting up to get the medicine bottle in her bathroom cabinet.

It occurred to Rey that she hasn’t checked her phone since earlier, after sending Ben that ridiculous flirty response. She turned off the TV and tucked herself under the covers, searching for the e-mail app, just to be sure he ignored her.

Turns out he didn’t.

* * *

From: **Ben O. Solo** <bensolo@skyeng.com>  
To: **Rey K.** <rey.kenobi@organarch.com>  
Re: Subject: **Watches  
** __________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Oh, but I do.  
5’7, brunette…  
You have no idea, Rey.

**Ben Solo** _**  
** Head Engineer_  
_Skywalker Engineering CO._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me, but I'm not sorry for that cliffhanger...
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments! ♥
> 
> What will that party bring, huh?


	3. it's party time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update this!  
> I had some personal issues and I've been working a lot lately, so this chapter is a bit longer to compensate that!  
> Special thanks to Angie, for helping me and pushing me to believe I could move on from my slump! <3
> 
> Check the end notes to see the looks I was inspired by for Rey and Ben's party outfits.

Rey woke up near ten am, her head feeling a bit heavy. She didn’t know if it was due to the wine she drank or that e-mail, which she hasn’t answered yet. She was still thinking about it though, it felt too odd that Ben would be suddenly interested in her, enough to send such a bold email like that. He said it clearly that he wanted her, no in-betweens. But Rey felt foolish, and also a little played with. How did a man who barely spoke to her at the office, but sent enraged work emails at unusual hours, simply decided that he was going to flirt with her from now on? Maybe that was Ben was just throwing bait to see if she would be silly enough to bite into it; a new game of cat and mouse to compete with the chain of hectic messages they usually shared.  
He was constantly obnoxious and so full of himself, with the stupid manners engineers usually had towards architects. Rey gritted her teeth just by remembering how Solo acted when he was in a bad mood, which happened constantly when she was involved. Why the hell she ever considered that Ben was serious about the flirt?  
But Rey also couldn’t help thinking that somehow he noticed the way she sometimes gawked at him entering the room, how long she would stare at his arms and those locks she wanted to touch so desperately, perhaps even flattered himself on how Rey occasionally let it slip, with long glances and loud sighs, that she crushed him hard. It didn’t help that she hasn’t dated anyone in a year and was feeling so needy lately, and that bait was temptation knocking on her door. What if she had an actual shot at intimacy with Ben? That is, if he didn’t despise her after all… he was as handsome as he was hard to fathom, so of course it could be just a pastime thing, flirting with her to prove a point or something.  
Rey stretched on the sheets, her mind wouldn’t shut up about it all and she was still feeling too lazy, so she lingered in bed a bit longer. BB8 was sleeping heavily on her side pillow, that sloppy beagle she loved more than herself; she cuddled him for some time before her phone started ringing frantically. This time it was actually ringing, it wasn’t another alarm, that she was sure of.

“Wake up, sunshine!” A cheerful Rose said on the other side of the line.

“Hey, Ro, morning!” Rey sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“As I suspected, you just woke up huh? You didn’t forget about the party later, did you?”

“I didn’t, but it’s too early for you to be putting so much thought into that event. Why’s that?”

“Just excited for a different type of gathering, I guess. I love you, don’t get me wrong, I’m just tired of pubs, need something other than the usual beer!” Rose did sound excited, and that annoyed Rey just a little, mostly because she wished she was more like that.

“Well, pubs have other types of drinks, you know that, right?” Rey teased with a laughter while finally getting up.

“It’s not about the beverage itself, ReyRey, it’s about the _atmosphere_!” Rose had almost a dreamy tone, like she was part of a fairytale story, and Rey could bet that her eyes were definitely sparkling now. “And I’m rather excited to see Leia’s reaction to your _perfect_ dress code choice!”

“I can’t wait to feel gawky in front of the whole company and a bunch of other strangers.” Rey’s voice sounded distant in speaker mode. She looked herself into the bathroom mirror, at least she didn’t have dark circles under her eyes for a change. “But don’t worry, I’ll be there trying to act like you would.”

“You know I’ll be next to you the whole time. Just a few hours in a nice dress won’t hurt you, I promise.” Rose’s reassuring tone calmed Rey, as it usually did. “Although the heels might.”

“Nothing fancier than a walk of shame with heels in hand, right?” Rey laughed, and Rose followed. “Guess I’ll go for a run now. See you later?”

“Okay, let me know when I can come over, I need help with that updo and the eyeliner. I’ll bring a tub of ice cream.”

“You’re my hero! Maybe about four, just text me okay? Bye, Ro.” Rose said something about how she could easily be on a DC Comic as the lead character and hung up while Rey agreed on it all.

Rey yawned again before washing her face. She was feeling more okay with the idea of the party now that she found that beautiful dress, but something still felt unsettled. Perhaps she had cold feet, and it could have more to do with Ben than she wanted to admit. She had to be careful with her next response, if she chose to tease him a bit more, he would either give in or jump out. As if it wasn’t already uncomfortable at work without her having to deal with direct rejection from him. But if she did it right, she could use the party to her favor, after all. She typed in the words, blushing right after hitting send, then went to tie her hair up in a single bun. A change of clothes later, her iPod playlist was already on shuffle and her phone was long forgotten on top of the kitchen table; a run and a warm coffee, that was what she really needed to make the day better.  
  


* * *

From: **Rey K.** <rey.kenobi@organarch.com>  
To: **Ben O. Solo** <bensolo@skyeng.com>  
Re: Subject: **Watches**  
__________________________________________________________________________________

Let me know if you plan to do something about that later tonight.  
Also, you should wear the new watch I picked for you ;)

xx  
Rey

* * *

  
“You look amazing!” Rey stared at Rose, after finishing her makeup. It was simple, like Rose preferred, but still felt more than enough. She glanced at the mirror, loving her hair and cat eye.

“Girl, I know, but have you checked yourself? _Hot alert!_ ” Rey blushed at her words, but not feeling bad at all. A girls’ afternoon getting ready with her best friend was something she usually didn’t do, but it was so fun that she was willing to even go out more after that.

“I’m already thinking about the next party we’ll go to. I need to see you in that white dress with the Chanel boots.” Rose said, putting on her heels. Rey was about to say something, but Rose cut her off. “Don’t tell me there will not be another party, let a girl dream would ya?”

“I was gonna say I can’t wait.” Rose gasped while Rey chuckled, that was indeed a huge victory coming from her. Rose got up and ran to hold her, crushing Rey with a huge smile.

“Oh my God, the power of getting ready, I love it!” Rose let her go and grabbed her clutch from the bed, checking the inside. “By the way, are you done? I think Poe and Finn are on their way.”

“Yeah, just one more thing.”

Rey left to go to the bathroom, to check herself in the mirror one last time. If she was alone, she would give herself a little pep talk, but she didn’t want Rose to listen to her ramble. She took a deep breath, then checked her teeth to see if there wasn’t any lipstick on them. Her phone buzzed on the counter, but it was just a message from Finn saying they were a couple blocks away. She couldn’t let the fact that Ben didn’t reply to her get to her mind, maybe he wasn’t interested and just wanted prove that _she was_. Bait. That was very messed up, but she wouldn’t be surprised. Until Friday night he hated her, then on Saturday morning he didn’t? Something was not right.  
Rey and Rose left the building to meet a black car parked right in front of it. The window glass rolled down and Finn showed up.

“Good evening, pretty ladies. In need of a ride?” He said with a little wink.

“Oh, hello there!” Rey winked back, opening the door so Rose could get in first. “Looking quite handsome, sir.”

“Can’t believe we’ll be on time, I was about to run late…” Poe said from the driver’s seat.

“Yeah, because you couldn’t decide on a pair of shoes when they looked exactly the same, babe.” Finn said, rolling his eyes.

“Oxford and Derby is not the same thing. Oh Rose, will you help me educate this poor man?” Poe was laughing, already leaving the parking spot.

“I’m already educating our little sunshine, I can only deal with one fashion disaster at a time!” She chuckled, while Rey lightly slapped her knee.

“I’m not a disaster! I just didn’t have a dress.” Rey pouted, but not that anyone could see inside the dark car.

“You actually had two! The plum disaster and the stripper Barbie one!” Rose was laughing loudly now, and Finn and Poe joined her.

“Oh my God, can we see stripper Barbie? Please, Rey, I’m begging you!” Finn teased her, just to get hit on the shoulder.

“It’s either slut or prude, huh?” Poe asked, still making fun of her.

“And that’s how I’ll never go out with you again, guys. So long for the next party, Rose.”

The guys complained about how Rey never went out to parties anyway, and Rose just got along with it, saying that something had to change about that, while Rey pretended she wasn’t listening to it.  
It took a bit more than fifteen minutes to get to the building, it was Sunday and the streets were quite empty. Poe left the car to the valet and went to take Rey’s arm, since Finn was already getting inside with Rose. The place looked amazing, even with very few decorations, and barely no flowers at all. Everything had an intricate geometric pattern in purple, gold and black, matching the company logo, and Rey felt quite small entering those front doors now that the project was finished. It was beyond perfect. Nearly a hundred people occupied the biggest saloon, a place that was designed exactly for that type of gathering. They left their coats at the cloakroom and headed properly inside, where they could see Leia and Amilyn Holdo talking.

“Rey, darling. You look so stunning!” Leia sounded so genuine that it made Rey blush a bit, hugging her quickly and greeting Amilyn accordingly. Leia proceeded to greet the others, still glancing at Rey. There were a few company people near the buffet, and Leia took the whole group to their designated table.

They moved around, reaching their table, just in time for appetizers. Finn and Rose were delighted at the crab cakes, while Poe grabbed a champagne flute from a passing waiter and offered Rey one. They sat down, and after a bit of small talk, Holdo was up the platform stage, located in the middle of the room, ready to give her opening speech. It was brief, and with mainly ‘thank yous’ and acknowledgements to contributors, employees and OrganArch/Skywalker Engineering for the project and construction. As soon as she was done, and Leia went away from the talk, Poe looked around the group with a mischievous face, ready to shout that the party was about to start. Since it wasn’t supposed to end up too late, because they all worked on Monday morning, there was no time to lose.

“So, dinner will be served soon. I’m thinking shots!” Poe exclaimed, to excited to contain himself. Finn hugged him by the waist, since he was still sitting and Poe was standing by his side.

“I’m in!” Rose sounded as excited as Poe. “Finn you don’t even have a choice. That leaves…’ The three turned their heads to Rey, who was sipping on her champagne and not even paying attention to her friends.

“What?” She mumbled, not understanding why they were suddenly focused on her.

Rey was thinking about the fact that Ben didn’t show up, or maybe he hasn’t crossed her way. She felt disappointed because a small part of her wanted, for once, to surprise him. To make him impressed, or even speechless, by the sight of how good she looked. She knew she could turn heads, but she wanted his head to follow her when she walked by. Rey felt like a teenager again – but she would be caught dead before Poe found out he was right about how she indeed acted like one sometimes – trying so hard to impress a guy who wasn’t even interested in her. It was so dumb.

“We, all of us, are doing some shots. Finish your champagne!” Rose said, pointing to the bar.

“That’s an easy pass for me.” Rey said, drinking a bit more, but not finishing it just yet.

“Rey, come one! Can you once in your life listen to your voice of reason – _me_ – and just do something fun?” Poe rolled his eyes, pulling a chair to sit in front of her.

“If anything, you’re the annoying voice in my head that always wants to lead me on your so called “adventures”. Last time I listened, I was thighs deep in mud holding a pig, and I had an itchy nose I couldn’t scratch. So that’s a no-no!” Finn and Rose laughed so hard they almost choked, remembering the Farm Day that Poe had set to them a month earlier, where everything went wrong. Poe was holding his laugh, trying to look offended.

“In my defense, you chose the pig.” He raised his hands, making an innocent face. “But the drinks are free, we can come in a bit later tomorrow.” Rey just glanced at him with the corner of her eyes, finishing her drink now. “You look so grumpy, what’s the problem, ReyRey? You look beautiful, it’s a party. No reason not to smile!”

Poe lifted her chin, grinned at her and booped her nose. Rey sighed, feeling surrendered. She didn’t want her friends to know about the emails with Ben, the current topic that was bothering her so much. She was about to answer Poe with a silly excuse that she was just feeling a bit off, when she saw Ben.  
He was talking to Hux and Luke, with a glass of whisky in his hand. The distance and the smooth jazz playing would make it impossible for her to hear what they were talking about, but while Hux and Luke were all smiling and looking cheerful, Ben was frowning. He was checking his watch and Rey was still staring at him, ignoring Poe. Ben suddenly looked up, eyes meeting hers. It lasted a mere two seconds, but that sight of him made something warm urge in her belly, and the air escaped her lungs quicker than usual. He was wearing all black: suit, tie and shirt, and there she was, thinking he couldn’t be more handsome. Poe was quick enough to follow her gaze, finding the cause of Rey’s momentary distraction.  
Finn and Rose were listing reasons why Rey should drink with them, how she somehow still owed them at least a shot once in her life. But Poe opted for a new approach.

“Okay, fine. I promise I’ll never try to make you drink shots again, but it’ll come at a cost. I know how much you love dares, and how much you hate losing.” Hearing the word ‘dare’ made an impact on Rey, since she was bluntly staring at Poe now, and his eyes were too sharp for someone who was mixing a lot of different cocktails just moments earlier. But that was true, she never lost a dare in her life.

“What’s the dare? And most importantly, what’s my prize?” For the first time that night since Leia had long complimented her, she felt some sort of excitement again.

“I said it already, no more trying to convince you.”

“Poe, you know that’s not nearly enough. I want the big guns.” Rey leaned in, cocking her head to the side. That was about to become interesting.

“I’ll pay for your expensive coffee every day, for a whole month.” He chuckled. Finn and Rose had no idea where Poe was going with that. Apparently, they were not included in his plan.

“If?” Rey asked, smirking.

“If you convince baby Solo and his gang to have a shot with us. And that involves you also taking a shot, at least one. That’s all I’m asking tonight.”

Poe was looking so confident, so certain that Rey would never accept that. She would rather have him trying to convince her to close the bar every single time they went for happy hours. He was just playing a game for her to be mad at him, so he could keep winning on his own ‘annoying Rey’ competition. He barely believed when she answered.

“That’s it? A shot? Ben, Hux and Phasma?” She had a little smile on her face. That could indeed be the perfect excuse.

“You are looking too confident.” He narrowed his eyes at her.

“I just can’t wait for you to buy me all the coffee available, sweetheart.” She winked at him, getting up from the chair and going straight to where Ben was now talking to a very excited Hux and an annoyed Phasma.

Rey tried to act like she had full control over the situation, but she was not very confident it would work. After all, she decided to go against her guts that Ben was playing games with her with that flirty email and sent that response earlier, and instead of being the one ignoring the situation, she was completely ignored by him. Rey was indeed frustrated, but she could so well hide it like it never happened before. Plus, Phasma was always kind to her, often apologizing when Ben were too rude, she could try to convince her first. She would not let Poe annoy her about Solo any longer too, of course any kind of dare would include him after whatever happened on that work morning.  
She was a few feet away when Leia appeared out of nowhere, pulling Ben by the arm. Maybe it was not a good time to interrupt, she barely saw Leia at the party apart from when she arrived. She was probably busy greeting everyone and socializing.  
Rey took a few more steps, but suddenly stopped, because what would be her good excuse to invite them to shots with Leia around? They were all adults, sure, and the party had a free bar, but still it was a work party, not just another gathering to go reckless. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass the company in any way, or worse, herself, and maybe the stupid shots idea would be exactly the thing to get her there. Rey turned on her heels, ready to come back to the table with a great excuse to Poe on why she could not invite Ben and his gang for shots, when she heard her name, and Leia came with a big smile in her direction.

“Rey, darling! Have I told you how stunning you look?” she held Rey’s hand, pulling her towards the others. Rey just blushed, thanking her low enough for just Leia to hear. “I was just talking to Ben on how Lando’s project is looking promising and he was telling me about some of your insights on it. Impeccable as always.”

Leia let go of her hand, and Rey had no words. So Ben payed her a compliment directly to his mother, but could not reply to a flirt he started huh? Noticed. She looked at Ben, and he looked quite relaxed. His frown from earlier was long gone and from where she was standing, she could smell his usual cologne. God, why did he had to smell so good and look so handsome all at once? Rey was one step away from daydreaming about ripping his black suit apart, when Phasma broke the silence.

“You look beautiful, Rey! Really like the dress!” Phasma had kind eyes, Hux nodded at her direction, and Ben was staring at her, but she could not read him, so she decided to ignore the way Ben’s eyes pierced her so hard and give someone else her attention.

“Thanks, Phas! Your dress is amazing too.” It was true, Phasma had such a model’s body Rey had no idea why she was an engineer and not hitting the runaways.

There was a bit of awkward silence, Rey almost forgot why she went to talk to them in first place. Leia pretty much reminded her, by bringing a new topic to the weird small talk they were having.

“So, where’s the rest of your team?” She looked at Rey, waiting for an answer.

“Oh, right! They are by our table… I was wondering if you guys wanted to have some drinks with us.” Surprisingly, she didn’t stutter, Rey made it sound like inviting them was simply the natural thing to do.

“Oh that’s wonderful! You do need to socialize outside of the office, or else you’ll end up wanting to rip each other’s heads off. Team work can be too stressful for some.” Leia seemed truly excited by the idea of her employees having some sort of relaxing time together. She looked directly at Ben after her last words, and he rolled his eyes at his mother.

“Oh yeah, we’d love to.” Hux was the one to talk. He lightly pushed Ben forward, who still haven’t said a word, like an indication for them to move.

“I’ll leave you to it. Behave, Benjamin.” Leia said lastly, making everyone chuckle and Ben sigh louder than he intended to.

They were walking together; the table was not very far from where they were initially standing. Rey and Phasma continued on their small talk, while Ben and Hux followed them. Ben was too quiet, and staring at each other was the only interaction they had. Maybe she should pull him aside and say something, perhaps about how those emails were just banter and they should just ignore it. Even though all she craved for was an answer from him, even a bad one, anything that made her at least understand a bit why his attitudes never met, like he had more than one self. So far it was work Ben and flirt Ben; Rey was not sure if she wanted to know about any other Ben.  
When they reached the table, Poe’s eyes widened in sheer surprise. He never believed she could pull that off, though she had confidence, he believed she was bluffing. They all accommodated on half the table, greeting and shaking hands. Ben was still looking too serious, but at least he had the decency to address the others.

“Okay, so we’re doing this, right?” Finn asked, holding a bottle of tequila.

“Oh, count me in!” Hux said, more enthusiastic than anyone had ever seen him. “Phas, you too.” He bumped shoulders with her while laughing. Rose was giving them all the small glasses, stopping at Rey. She kindly put one in her hand. It was part of the dare, so she had no escape.

“Now all we have to do is convince Ben.” Hux said, glancing at his friend. “Maybe tequila is what you need, you’re too grumpy today, pal.”

“I’m not grumpy.” Ben said in his defense, with the grumpiest face. Everyone laughed at him, including Rey.

“No offense, Benjamin, but you could literally be related to the grinch with that frown.” Phasma said, teasing him.

Rey grabbed another shot glass, now full with the amber liquid, and went in his direction. She handed him one, without losing the eye contact, pressing her lips together before saying. “It’s not an email, don’t chicken out.” And there she was, not properly flirting, but teasing. He narrowed his eyes, taking the small shot from her hand. Rey noticed he was wearing the black watch, just like she suggested. It could be a coincidence, or he did read the email and avoided her because of it. By all means she wanted to be sure.  
They all grabbed the salt and lime, toasting and chugging their drinks down. Rey was the first to put her glass on the table and make a funny face, almost shouting ‘never again’. Ben didn’t even flinch at the drink, and everyone felt a bit lighter after the first shot of the night.

“One down, about twenty more to go!” Poe screamed, hugging Rey on the side and offering her another shot, pointing at the tequila bottle on the table.

“Oh yeah, no way. You asked for _one_. I gave you. You can start paying for my coffee tomorrow.” She laughed, getting away from Poe’s embrace, while Rose and Finn made fun of him. After all she won the bet. Solo, Hux and Phasma took a shot with them, and so did she. The deal was done.

“Look who’s chickening out now.” She heard Ben’s deep voice in her ear, having no idea he was so close. While all the others were putting new shots and grabbing food from passing waiters, he was standing behind her.  
She turned around to look at him, it was the first words he spoke directly at her that night. She was close enough to see that his eyes had some green tones, from afar they always seemed a deep brown; he was even better this close. Her eyes traveled to his lips, quickly coming back to his eyes. She had no idea why she wanted to press her lips so urgently to his, he was so mean all the time.

“Someone has to drive home, you know.” She finally said, taking a step back to be at a safer distance.

“You can always get a cab, Rey.” He sipped a whisky, and Rey wondered at what moment he got that drink. How long did she spend staring at his eyes? Oh God, there she was being pathetic.

“I still have to drive the drunk idiots home.” She waved her hand, like it was nothing much.

“What about later?” He glanced at all their friends engaging with each other, it felt like they were in a bubble or something, because no one was paying attention to their conversation.

“Later?” She was confused, now Ben was talking in codes. Great.

“If you had _answered_ my email, you’d know, wouldn’t you?” He chuckled a bit, wetting his lips and drinking a bit more. So that was Ben flirting in person, of course he’d be cocky and full of himself. But what email was he talking about?

“I did, earlier. You are the one that left me hanging… and here I was, thinking my night was about to end up at a more interesting place.” He looked very surprise at her response. Rey crossed her arms and looked away, making sure her friends were not paying attention at all. “Wanna grab a refill?”

She turned around and walked over to the bar, before he could even answer. Ben followed her, leaving his now almost empty glass at whatever table was in the way. She asked for another champagne, sipping on it while watching Ben approach her.

“Just for you to know, I answered it a bit before leaving for the party.” He rolled his eyes at her. “And I was very serious about it.”

“Oh well, you can either tell me or show me, because your email never arrived.” Her tone was too sensual, she meant it to be serious, but Rey was still thinking about kissing him.

“Unless… oh shit.”

“Rey! Ben! Just the two I was looking for!” A very excited and perhaps a bit tipsy Leia walked over to meet them.

Rey looked at Ben, his eyes shifted and his cheeks blushed. He was embarrassed about something, but she had no idea what. If he said he had sent the email… And then it hit her.

“Fuck.” They both said, quickly faking smiles while Leia hugged both of them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... embarassed much? 😳
> 
> Rey's outfit is a shorter version of [this](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9d/7f/12/9d7f12615e432862f91101a41b61a70a.jpg).
> 
> And Ben's, of course, is [this one](https://cdnph.upi.com/pv/upi/9a442b3c6d1de0684d3f8d0ab2fda5a4/STAR-WARS-PREMIERE.jpg).

**Author's Note:**

> If you reached this point, thank you! ♥
> 
> Follow me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/reylosea)


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